21st Century Learning Skills Teacher Resources

Students compare occupations during the 19th century with the 21st century using information from 19th century census information.

What does your class know about GMOs? Are they savvy to selective breeding? Challenge young minds to engineer the greatest crop of all time using a hands-on genetics unit. Learners discover the good and bad details of selective breeding,...

How do engineers turn something that is readily available, like wind, into energy? Scholars create a prototype of a wind turbine and attach it to a motor. They test out their prototypes and decide on their effectiveness. They also...

In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...

Students are introduced to NASA's Connect Series and Flight Direction programs. They explore the world of aeronautics and their missions. Students receive a front role set to the concepts and skills involved with the various NASA programs.

Learners explore the basic process of natural selection and how people can manipulate that process today. The consequences of natural selection on daily life and the implications of evolutionary biology in basic and applied science is...

Students study the relationship between the average global temperature and carbon dioxide emissions.  In this weather activity students develop a test scenario using a model then read and interpret graphs of data. 

Students identify the sources of lead in their local community and how to prevent further contamination. As a class, they watch a video about the effects of lead on the body and use the internet to discover any new technology that can...

Seventh graders identify the different components of the circulatory system. In this biology lesson, 7th graders use an interactive website to further study the parts and functions of each component. They create a "glog" or PowerPoint...

Students share the ways they use technology at school and at home. In groups, they discuss how their study of math, science and technology is helping to prepare them for future jobs. They share their findings with the class and develop...

Students define new words such as computer, internet and technology to begin the lesson. In groups, they discuss the definitions with the class and take a survey on the same topics. They discuss the ways technology and the internet can...

Have your Spanish speakers give museum tours with this interactive plan. To simplify this entertaining idea, bring in art pieces and create a gallery in your very own classroom. Provide the names of different works of art and have your...

Students use World Wide Web resources to identify the problems and advantages of high-speed transportation. They download files and graphics and incorporate them into a word processed report.

If you are taking your class on a library tour, use this scavenger hunt activity to spice it up. Although this hunt isn't actually attached (like the activity says it is), you will get a good idea of how to implement a task like this....

Meet with the school library specialist and work together to plan a visit and presentation on figurative language. After defining and examining examples of targeted terms, the class travels to the library where the SL has collected...

Choosing an issue from a play or novel, researchers find two primary sources from different time periods to compare how people's views have changed. Many questions are listed to guide young writers. In the end, learners produce a...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and an assortment of...

Redecorate a classroom on a budget. Middle schoolers rebuild a classroom after a disaster. They conduct Internet research to determine construction supplies needed and the most cost effective way to reach the predetermined results. They...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

It's important to make sure houses can withstand winds. A hands-on activity has learners create a structure out of household materials. They use a fan to simulate hurricane-force winds to see if their structures can withstand the...

Students research the various cultures in Colonial America. In this American history lesson, students analyze and complie the research they find presenting what they have found into a short presentation.

How can you tell if a number of items is reasonable? Combine math and language arts with a fun lesson based on Jeff Shepard's The Right Number of Elephants. After reading the book, kids discuss amounts of other items and create minibooks...

Your young architects use the Internet to research tall structures or sky scrapers to help in the design of their scale drawings. This is instructional activity one of three in which learners design, build, and test model skyscrapers for...